Chapter 285: Attack on Jiaozhi
The eighth year of Li Yuan.

If we apply this to Li Shimin, then this year, Li Shimin had just completed the counterattack against the Turks, captured Xieli Khan alive and brought him back to Chang’an, and destroyed the Eastern Turks.

However, for Zhao Xin, this year he proposed that whoever controls the ocean in the future will control the world, and the Song Dynasty must develop from a land power country to a dual land and sea power country as much as possible.

no way!
Zhao Xin had to say this because… people like Sima Guang always had great objections to his development towards Ryukyu and towards the south.

The main reason is that this costs too much money.

Zhao Xin could only tell them that in Fuzhou alone, there were nearly one million people in the Song Dynasty.

Yes!

You heard it right. In Fuzhou alone, there are nearly 200,000 households.

However, everyone knows that the land in Fuzhou is very scarce, and with 200,000 households, it is not enough for the people of the Song Dynasty to cultivate.

Therefore, among so many places where babies are abandoned or drowned, Fuzhou can be said to be among the top.

Once the people are hungry, rebellion is likely to occur.

In order to feed these people, Zhao Xin had to go out and open up new land.

And Ryukyu.

Although the entire island is not very big, there is not much flat land.

But at least it can add millions of acres of arable land to the Song Dynasty. In order to solve the livelihood problems of the people, going to sea is still very necessary.

Once you go out to sea, you must have military support.

and so……

The Song Dynasty must build a good navy.

All he did was to enable the Han people to survive and thrive better.

How can it be called a waste?
After listening to Zhao Xin’s calculations, it was found that millions of acres of arable land could be added.

Sima Guang and others didn’t say much afterwards.

The only thing that still worries them is that once the population is relocated, it will be difficult to control them in the future.

of course!

With the navy, the situation is different.

this year.

The ships that went out for patrol and reconnaissance also discovered that there was an island to the south of Ryukyu that was larger than Ryukyu.

To be precise, it can also be said to be a group of islands.

The island closest to Ryukyu over there has a large area that can be used for farming. Zhao Xin took out the world map he had drawn and spread it out to take a look.

Compare them.

to be frank!
In the past, he only focused on Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and other places, and at most added Singapore, the Strait of Malacca and so on.

This one under Ryukyu…

What place it was, he couldn’t remember what it was called.

But in his memory.

It seems that there is indeed land here.

It’s just north of Australia.

Of course Zhao Xin didn’t believe that they had already arrived in Australia.

and……

As mentioned in the report, these are all relatively fragmented islands.

It’s even less likely to be Australia.

These are just some of the places…

I’m afraid that if it were put into later times, it would still be a little transparent.

These islands are not completely uninhabited.

There are at least a dozen tribes and kingdoms, large and small.

But the good news is that the people below reported that the population of these tribes and kingdoms is not large, and the largest one has only a few thousand people.

Moreover, some of their customs, such as requiring slaves to be buried alive with their husbands and requiring their wives to fast for seven days after their husbands’ death (only after surviving seven days could they continue to survive), also limited their own population growth to the greatest extent.

Since this island has no name yet, it is still inhabited by some savages and natives, who live together in more than a thousand families, along the creek, on high ground and in rugged terrain, and make their houses out of thatched grass.

Zhao Xin also said: “From now on… this place will be called Xiao Song.”

If Zhao Xin was more interested in Zheng Chenggong, he would definitely know that this place was later called Luzon, and it also had another name, the Philippines.

In fact…

Merchants from Fuzhou in the Song Dynasty had already visited this place a long time ago.

only……

They came here to trade, and their numbers were usually small, so they did not have much impact on the local area.

There are both good and bad natives on the island.

Some of the indigenous people were very friendly to the Han people and even came up to do business with you.

Some of them will directly use force and snatch from you, appearing to be extremely vicious.

Zhao Xin also asked someone to copy the map again and sent it to his sons.

The meaning is self-evident.

Once we conquer Jiaozhi, those of you who don’t have any land yet can go and divide it up.

But there were not many people on the island at this time.

Come step by step!
After all, they are only eighteen years old, less than twenty years old.

in fact……

It’s not so much about owning a country.

Zhao Xin actually hoped that they just regarded this place as an asset.

Try to use your business acumen as much as possible to make your life better.

This is the best.

Ouyang Xiu was also very helpless after seeing the picture.

He couldn’t help but complain to Fu Bi while drinking, “I think the emperor will definitely make trouble. After the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia, I thought he had finally stopped and thought that we could live a peaceful life for a few days. But now, he has created another Ryukyu and a small Song Island for you. Alas~”

Fu Bi also frowned. In fact, Fu Bi had no objection to foreign expansion.

But it is hard to say whether this outward expansion will be beneficial to the country.

After all, you have spent so much manpower and material resources, can you make your money back in the end?

And even if they want to make back their investment, those places are so far away from them, how can they collect these things?

of course!

There is one point that Fu Bi agrees with.

That is, if they do not expand outward, they will see babies abandoned and drowned every year.

Moreover, the people were crowded together and lived in extreme hardship, with no food to eat for the next meal.

But if you can get out there.

At least……

You might even be able to support yourself.

This year……

The Song Dynasty planned to relocate 10,000 households to Ryukyu first.

The cost is no less than fighting a war.

In fact, due to the continuous investment required in the early stages, it might even cost more than what Zhao Xin would spend on fighting a battle.

of course!

This is all due to Zhao Xin’s high demands.

If Zhao Xin had said that there was no need to guarantee the survival rate of the people, and that if anyone died while reclaiming the land, then that would not necessarily have been the amount spent.

Other dynasties usually reclaimed those wild lands because of war.

They are good!
The country is peaceful and stable, but they are developing those lands.

And they also have to send their own people out.

This has been a rare occurrence since ancient times.

Should we say that the government is too kindhearted and doesn’t want the people to live in too much hardship, or should we say…

But there is one thing to say.

The Song Dynasty was rich, indeed rich.

But there are definitely many poor people.

In particular, the taxes in their Song Dynasty were much higher than those in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

In fact, many people, even those living in the city, can only barely make ends meet.

Fu Bi also said: “On the bright side, at least the government didn’t spend all its money on pleasures.”

After hearing this, Ouyang Xiu thought it was true.

This June.

The grandson was born.

Zhao Xin has now become a grandfather.

Reduce the taxes paid by the people of Liao by half this year.

late autumn.

A navy of 10,000 has been formed.

At this time, the Song Dynasty Navy had basically completed the full transformation to firearms.

What is lacking now is an opportunity for actual practice.

Zhao Xin also approved the applications of several sons to set sail.

Do you think he would be a little worried?

This is not really a worry.

after all……

Some people can be hit and killed by carriages while walking outside.

If they were so unlucky and died on the battlefield, there would be nothing that could be done. Their fate should be controlled by themselves.

There’s no point in raising them like pigs.

then……

That year, a total of 100 warships and 150 requisitioned merchant ships, carrying 10,000 sailors, 10,000 auxiliary troops, and a large amount of food and fodder, sailed south.

October.

Arrived in Guangzhou.

Mid to late October.

Landed on the western coast of Jiaozhi.

Even the foreign merchants living in Guangzhou were surprised to see this huge fleet.

The battle in Dai Viet also started soon.

On the Dai Viet side, Li Rizun sent Li Changjie to defend.

The Dai Viet army had a total of more than 30,000 elite soldiers, as well as other second- and third-line soldiers, which together numbered a total of 200,000.

As for the Song Dynasty, it was led by Zhao Hong and others.

In fact, the army of Dai Viet is more than just this number, but you also need to defend other places.

These two hundred thousand are just the number of people gathered here at this time.

And that year, Zhao Hong was actually only nineteen years old.

As soon as the two sides came up, Li Changjie gave Zhao Hong a warning by saying that he had 200,000 people.

I hope the sons of the Zhao family officials will be sensible and return to the Central Plains. Otherwise, the officials of the Song Dynasty will end up sending their descendants to poverty.

As for Zhao Hong…

Don’t talk to the other person, because talking is just a waste of time.

Within one day, they captured the provincial capital closest to the coast, and then persuaded and appeased the officials and civilians inside and outside the city to surrender.

Explain the truth to them!
First, you were the ones who attacked the Song Dynasty first, so we, the Song Dynasty, came to attack you.

Second, Jiaozhi was originally the homeland of the Han and Tang dynasties.

Third, the Song Dynasty came this time only to attack the King of Dai Viet, Ly Nhat Hanh, and had nothing to do with officials and civilians.

Fourth, once the Song Dynasty occupied the entire territory of Jiaozhi, officials would continue to serve as officials and the people would continue to live a good life.

Fifth, those who have intelligence and are willing to contribute to the Song Dynasty will be rewarded according to their merits after the task is accomplished.

Sixth, don’t blame those who resist stubbornly, even if they are killed.

In fact…

It was only after the few people went out to sea that Zhao Xin came to his senses.

He shouldn’t have let Di Qing go to attack Jiaozhi.

Because Zhao Xin knew what the style of Di Qing’s army was without asking Di Qing.

I don’t know whether the brutality of the Song Dynasty has spread to Jiaozhi.

If it really spreads too deeply and too widely.

Then it might be difficult to conquer Jiaozhi.

Wang Shao was also in the army.

I also found some businessmen I knew and asked them to help with promotion.

To a certain extent, it temporarily appeased the people in the state capital.

The state capital was captured in one day.

Comfort the people in the city.

Li Changjie also sent a troop of 2,000 men to attack the Song Dynasty’s ships at night.

of course!

Fortunately, the Song army was well prepared.

Of the 2,000-man army, only a few hundred managed to escape.

This is also the best time for Li Changjie to escape.

You’ve heard it all, others are firing their guns.

If you don’t run away yet, prepare for the next guerrilla attack in advance.

Then what chance do you have of winning?

the next day.

Li Changjie led the army to the outside of the state capital.

The Song army also led two thousand people out of the city.

Li Changjie clearly heard that he lost the fight last night.

And also asked people to line up.

This is a bit confusing.

He probably thought that these Song troops should be no different from the previous Song troops.

So he sent people up to fight with the Song army.

Fortunately, a small number of troops from the second line were used for the test.

This test…

I was immediately dumbfounded.

He sent out a thousand people in the first wave, but they were defeated in less than a quarter of an hour.

Many people were even shot to death while still in a daze.

After seeing the lethality of the musket, they did not run away immediately, but stood up straight and looked forward.

Even Zhao Hong couldn’t help but sigh after seeing this: “This Dai Viet Kingdom is really not simple! They are not even afraid of artillery.”

Then the other brothers complained: “Is it possible that they haven’t reacted yet? And looking at their armor and equipment, they are clearly cannon fodder, sent out to test the waters.”

Zhao Hong said, “You are so talkative. While the enemy has no intention of escaping, kill as many as there are, kill them!”

Li Changjie originally thought that Di Qing was already difficult enough to deal with before.

At most, he fought Di Qing to a draw, and that was when he had the advantage of terrain. Unexpectedly…

This time, this group of Song army simply disregarded the ethics of war.

When Li Changjie looked back, he saw that there was even commotion in his army.

Just imagine, a big iron ball hit one of his soldiers directly and penetrated the entire string.

His own people fell to the ground in an instant.

Is it possible for ordinary people to withstand such deterrence?
If Li Changjie had not still some prestige in Dai Viet, the soldiers might have dispersed long ago.

however……

Even if they don’t disperse now, it’s just a matter of time.

As the Song army reloaded their ammunition, they moved forward step by step.

The closer those are to the front, the more nervous they become.

And if even the shield soldiers standing in the front feel nervous, then it will be difficult to win the battle.

“Boom boom boom!”

The artillery shells hit directly into the group of Dai Viet soldiers.

Next…

It’s just a matter of seeing how long Dai Viet’s elite troops can last without collapsing.

but……

Li Changjie was not the kind of person who was new to the battlefield. He knew very well that the only way now was to advance, so he ordered the bugle to be blown to let the front-row soldiers move forward.

The soldiers in the front row also did so. After all, military orders are as strong as mountains!
But this had almost no effect on the Song army.

Just because…

Under multiple attacks, one hit would just result in a death.

and……

Because too many people died in the front row, the people behind would not be able to march in formation better, which would cause the soldiers in the back row to not be able to maintain formation and march better.

After hundreds of lives were given away in vain.

at last……

The soldiers began to get impatient.

Li Changjie, looking at those weapons that he had never even seen before, couldn’t help but feel a sense of powerlessness.

How to do?
Use elephant soldiers?
But the elephant soldiers don’t seem to work either.

Yes!

Now, even the elephants seemed a little restless after hearing the sound of gunfire.

While Li Changjie was still thinking.

It only takes a while.

As the pressure on the battlefield increased further, soon…

The Dai Viet army was completely unable to defend itself.

In the minds of Dai Viet soldiers: This is not a war at all!

This is clearly giving away one’s life!
In other words, some personal guards who have a very good relationship with Li Changjie can still stay by Li Changjie’s side.

And Li Changjie didn’t know what to do.

Anyway…

He had never fought a battle like this before.

“Retreat first!”

Someone advised.

however……

This is just a nicer way of saying it.

To be precise, given their situation, it should be called a defeat.

(End of this chapter)